“So, what else did we need to talk about?”
“You got into town last night? That was quick.”
I agreed, and then he asked if I had stayed at the house, and I told him that I had.
“It was quite weird being back there. I can't believe he's gone.”
He assured me that he couldn't either, and neither one of us talked for several moments. I'm not sure what there was to say. I still had to get the funeral together, and I worried that whatever Grandad had set up, would not be enough. I wanted him sent off in a way that everybody would remember.
We talked about the will and what was left and what I needed to do. I wasn't as worried about that as I was about the funeral, and I asked him what Granddad had set up. He was always a simple man in life, and while I wanted to honor that, I wanted him to go out with a big bang, as well. He meant so much to me and so many others, it seemed only fair that we sent him out in the same manner he’d come.
As we went through it, I quickly realized that Granddad had done well. Everything that could be thought about had been thought about, and I knew that the service would be perfect. I thanked his lawyer for taking the time to meet with me. I knew that he didn't have to. Emory was friends with him and that somehow made it easier. It made it feel like he was doing the right thing and taking care of it, because he owed it to Grandad. I didn't know if that was true or not, but I certainly felt like Grandad and his legacy was in good hands.
When I left the restaurant, I told him that I would see him again soon. The funeral was the next day and I only had one day to get some things together and figure out what I was going to do. I lived part time in Chicago and part time in Paris. I lived in Paris exclusively for years before I came back to get set up in America. I certainly knew this tiny town was not the best place that I could be for my career, but at the same time, it seemed like the perfect place. Grandad leaving his house to me made it so that I would have my own space that I wouldn't have to pay an arm and a leg for. Granddad, in his passing, had probably given me one of the best gifts that he could have, and it instantly satiated me because I wanted to move on with my own company and this was the way. I had so much to thank him for, but I liked to believe that he knew.
Going back to the house, I started to clean up, and found myself in tears several times. I was really going to miss him, and too many objects and places in the house held memories that had me choking back emotions most of the day.
3
Frank
I was getting ready for the funeral and thinking about why I was going in the first place. It was true that Gerald was an important member of the town of Hampton, but at the same time we weren't very close. Since we were both business owners and he had been one of my clients in the past, it felt like an obligation for me to go, but I knew that there was another reason.
There was another huge reason, and I couldn't deny it. While I wanted to say that I was there because it was the right thing to do, I knew that it was more because I wondered if somebody else was going to be there. Someone that I remembered very clearly from the past, even though I hadn't seen them in over ten years.
I looked in the mirror and decided that I was just being stupid. She might come, but it's not like she would be the same as before. I always wondered what happened to Amber. I got updates once in a while when I asked, but it had been over a decade. Obviously, some things had changed. She wouldn’t be the same woman that I’d fallen for so long ago.
Deep down, I knew I had this ridiculous idea that we would see each other and everything would fall back in place. I still remember that perfect summer we had together, and I’d always wished that I had been able to stay a little longer. Now, though, I was back in Hampton, and this might be my only time to see Amber. The last I heard, she was living in Paris. Certainly a step up from the small town where we had met, but Amber wouldn’t miss this. She was too close to Gerald to not go.
I got dressed thinking about her, wanting to impress her, and leaving with a bit of hope in my heart. I didn't know even know what I was hoping for. My life was a mess, and I didn't even know if I had room for anyone in it, let alone Amber. She had always been full of life and feisty. Could I handle her? I could barely handle the girl that she once had been. So much had changed. So many things.
Before I could talk myself out of going, I left the house and locked the door behind me.
